'Karate Kid' foes, Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, to battle in 'Cobra Kai' series

The show will follow Daniel and his ongoing rivalry with nemesis Johnny Lawrence, 30 years after their memorable match.

Author:
Erin Jensen, USAToday , TEGNA

Published:
4:21 PM EDT August 4, 2017

Start practicing your crane technique because the original Karate Kid is back.

Ralph Macchio, now 55, will reprise the role of Mr. Miyagi prodigy Daniel LaRusso in Cobra Kai, set to premiere in 2018 on YouTube Red, the video site's subscription service.

Over 10 episodes, the 30-minute show once again pits Daniel against his teenage nemesis, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), a former student of the Cobra Kai karate dojo, where they faced off in the original 1984 feature.

Set 30 years after their match, Johnny reopens Cobra Kai, restarting his feud with Daniel, who has been struggling to manage life without Miyagi (Pat Morita). Morita passed away in 2005.

"Like everyone who grew up in the 1980s, the three of us are enormous fans of The Karate Kid,” executive producers said Josh Heald (writer of Hot Tub Time Machine), Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (creators of the Harold & Kumar franchise) said in a press release. They promised, “Cobra Kai will be a true continuation of the original films – packed with comedy, heart, and thrilling fight scenes."

In 2014, Zabka told USA TODAY's For The Win he didn't realize the cultural impact of the film until the movie's 25th anniversary.

"It snuck up on us," he said. "The movie was out in theaters for six months back in the '80s, which films don’t do these days. They’re in and out in a weekend. It just started to graft into pop culture language in a way. I think it takes this long to realize that it’s here to stay."